The Real Conversation Jesus Wants Us to Have: A Call to Bravery, Peace, and Love
Ebook
Overview
It’s time to talk honestly about the gulf between institutional Christianity and the ideals embodied by Jesus.
With courage and compassion, Regina V. Cates asks thought-provoking questions about why present-day Christianity is often characterized by fear, judgment, and egotism. Imagining Jesus would be appalled by much that is said in his name, Regina points readers toward Christ’s lovingkindness, inclusivity, and humility. In so doing, she challenges readers to align their hearts more closely with Jesus’s teachings and honestly address the harm caused by so much institutional religion.
“God’s loving grace within our heart is the power of light that gives us strength to honestly examine the oppressive attitudes and behaviors alive within much of Christianity—attitudes and behaviors that, to Jesus’s heart, would not be either logical or kind.”
As part of this challenge, Regina initiates thoughtful conversations about topics including sexual abuse, racism, religious and political corruption, abortion, and sexual orientation. Part memoir, part social commentary, and part call to action, this book invites all people of good faith to more fully embody Jesus’s message by taking up his call to love our neighbors as ourselves.
“Let’s demonstrate our love for Jesus by asking and answering the questions I imagine he would ask. . . . I believe to truly follow him, it is imperative we help create the caring, peaceful, and respectful world he envisioned.”
Table of Contents
Foreword by Paula Stone Williams
1. Jesus Wants Us to Have This Conversation
2. We’re Never Supposed to Talk about This Topic
3. We Need to Confront Beliefs That Cause Us to Be Uncomfortable
4. Religious Dogma Is Ancient
5. Religion and Morality Are Not the Same Thing
6. They Are Us and We Are Them
7. Sometimes We Turn the Other Cheek and Other Times We Don’t
8. Men of Quality Respect Women’s Equality
9. We Need to Talk about Sex
10. Superheroes Are Real
11. United We Stand
12. Racism, It’s Time for Our Come-to-Jesus Moment
13. We Are Part of God’s Big Family
14. To Heal, We Must Feel
15. Love One Another as Jesus Loved
16. Love Has Excellent Vision
17. Care about the Legacy We Leave
Acknowledgments
Notes
“A quietly powerful reminder of the gentle, loving heart of Christianity.”
—Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)
“This powerful work is a rallying cry for LGBTQ+ individuals and others seeking to heal from the wounds of religious exclusion.”
—Coachella Magazine
“A vital and timely contribution to public discourse.”
—GirlTalkHQ
“Regina’s writing is not a rejection of faith—it’s a reimagining of it. Her work builds a bridge between spirituality and humanity.”
—Social Good Magazine
“A blueprint for repairing humanity.”
—Lisa Harrison, Good Faith Media
“Many of us have felt abandoned and betrayed by Christianity. The wounds are deep, but Regina Cates knows that there is good news. Jesus is so much bigger than Christianity! So you don’t fit in the nice little box that so many Christians want you to fit into? Well, Jesus didn’t fit into the religious box of his day, either. Sit down with this book and you will find yourself loved and accepted for who you are. Thanks be to God!”
—Adam Ericksen,pastor of Clackamas United Church of Christ
“Regina Cates invites God’s people to see the heartbreak of those on the margins, those too often treated as ‘less than’ by the very people who claim allegiance to the God of love. Though deeply wounded by the church, Cates refuses to give up on Jesus, the One who wouldn’t give up on her. Throughout her book, Jesus is the unparalleled touchstone for life, faith, relationships, justice. Though you may not agree with all her conclusions, Cates’s questions hold the potential to draw the church into deeper compassion, faithfulness, and love.”
—Mark DeVries, retired associate pastor for youth and family at First Presbyterian Church, Nashville
“Here is a reassuring book for those who have experienced the absence of love and inclusion in the institutional church. For all who are weak and heavy laden, Regina Cates proclaims the good news that Christ loves every last one of us unconditionally. This beautiful and inspiring work is a must read, not only for those of us who have been wounded by organized religion, but for those of us who have been complicit in the wounding of others as well.”
—Britt Skarda, retired senior pastor of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church
- Title: The Real Conversation Jesus Wants Us to Have: A Call to Bravery, Peace, and Love
- Authors: Regina V. Cates, Paula Stone Williams
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2025
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 228
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781467468213, 9780802884107, 0802884105, 1467468215
- Resource ID: LLS:9781467468213
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-25T11:09:31Z
Regina V. Cates is an author, activist, podcaster, and founder of Romancing Your Soul, an organization that helps people develop lives of love, compassion, and purpose. Her first internationally bestselling book Lead with Your Heart: Creating a Life of Love, Compassion, and Purpose continues to be an inspiration to people who desire a more fulfilled life. Regina is followed by hundreds of thousands on social media who embrace her messages of kindness, compassion, and empathy for one another as equal members of our human family.